Matthew Falcioni
August 2023
Matthew
Falcioni
,
ADN, RN
4 Progressive Care Unit
Henry Ford Wyandotte Hospital
Wyandotte
,
MI
United States
He was gentle, kind, and empathetic in his communication.
It takes a special human being to be filled with compassion and empathy so strong that it pours out of them in everything they do. There is a nurse who possesses these hard-to-find qualities. While rounding, I interacted with the daughter of a patient who was quite upset and tearful she had a lack of understanding of the patient’s plan of care. I found the patient’s nurses and updated him on the daughters’ concerns. We discussed actions that he had already taken to help remedy her unanswered questions (as an aside, his critical thinking skills were far beyond a new nurse). He immediately went into the room and thoroughly explained the patient's plan of care to the daughter. Additionally, he carried out an additional set of orthostatic blood pressures on the patient as the daughter’s biggest concern was the patient's very low blood pressure when she stood up. This is where I had the privilege of watching him interact with the patient. He was gentle, kind, and empathetic in his communication. He was cautious and caring when assisting her in changing positions. He ensured her safety was maintained when she stood as he knew her blood pressure would drop significantly. He explained to both the patient and daughter he would immediately update the primary physician with these new results. These actions seem small, but in reality, they are HUGE when it comes to our patients and families. This patient and her daughter may not be able to recall the name of the medication he administered to aid in increasing her blood pressure but what they will NEVER forget is his sensitive approach to caring for them. Afterward, I pulled him aside and explained to him how impressed I was with his nursing skills. He was so humble in his reaction to me telling him this. It is very clear what I witnessed is just his nature. He should be nothing but proud of himself for providing superb care to the patients he serves. He is a true definition of a nurse!